UK tables tougher visa rules for foreign workers, clampdown on bringing families

London: The UK government on Monday tabled a tough new set of measures to bring down the country's immigration numbers, including a much higher salary threshold for foreign workers to access skilled visas and a clampdown on bringing family members as their dependants. Going further on student visas, Cleverly said he will ask the Migration Advisory Committee to also review the Graduate Route visa "to prevent abuse and protect the integrity and quality of UK higher education", indicating that a similar crackdown on dependants on that post-study route may also be in the offing. While the Health and Care visa figures registered a 76 per cent rise in Indian applicants, the Skilled Worker route saw a small decline of 11 per cent to drop from 20,360 visas in the year ending September 2022 to 18,107 in the year ending this September. In the student visa category, Indian nationals continued to represent the largest group of students granted leave to remain on the relatively new post-study Graduate visa route, representing 43 per cent of grants.